Date Coding Machines

Linx offers consistent and reliable best before date printer and date coder options

What is Date Coding?

Date coding involves labeling products with production or expiration dates to inform consumers about their freshness and safety. This practice is vital in maintaining product quality, ensuring compliance with regulations, and providing traceability across various industries. Linx expiry-date printers are designed to deliver precision and reliability, meeting the needs of modern manufacturers.

Types of Date Codes

Use-by Dates: Indicate the final date for safe consumption. Products should not be used beyond this date.

Best Before Dates: Reflect the optimal quality period of a product. The product may still be safe after this date, but its quality may diminish.

Lot Numbers: Unique identifiers that enhance traceability and support recalls or batch tracking.

Freezing Dates: Specify the date of freezing to ensure safety and quality during storage.

Is Date Coding a Legal Requirement?

In England and Wales, pre-packed foods must display either a use-by date or a minimum durability date, such as “best before” or “best before the end.” Additional markings like lot numbers and freezing dates are also required for regulatory compliance.

To find out more information and to request your samples with no obligation, click the button below.

Request Print Sample

Best Before & Expiry Date Printers

Linx industrial date coding machines have pre-programmed and customizable date and time formats to match every customer need.

Using real time clock functions our date coders automatically calculate and print best before, manufacture or expiry dates. It can add a fine level of detail to your expiry date coding.

If you need expiry dates that are easily readable for your consumers or “closed dating” for meeting regulations on product traceability Linx can meet your specific printing or marking needs.

Expiry date printer

How Date Coders Make Life So Easy

The food industry isn’t the only industry that uses date coders. Date coding is used in the pharma industry, cosmetic industry, and electronic and beverage industry. Each industry has a different working environment, which these coders need to be robust enough to withstand those conditions. The coder must also be versatile enough to print on a range of different substrates, from glossy boxes to plastic film.

To handle this sort of variety, Linx has a wide range of date coders and inks to make the process easier for businesses in all industries.

Types of Date Code Machines

Our best-before-date printer uses simple on-screen prompts; templates can be easily created and stored in the internal printer memory. The date coder can also be set to variable intervals for forward or back sequential numbering, with models that auto-adjust for daylight savings time.

Continuous Inkjet (CIJ) Printers

Our most customisable option with inks that can be applied to nearly any substrate; even food-safe inks for print that comes in direct contact with ingestible products!

Linx CIJ coders are renowned for their flexibility, clean operation, and reliability, ideal for long hours of operation.

Automatic date function in the printer
Prompted date options
Built-in mistake proofing for date coding

Continuous Inkjet Printers

Large Character Marking Printers

Linx LCM printers offer an easy-to-use, cost-effective solution for high-resolution printing. They provide an environmentally friendly alternative to pre-printed boxes or labels.

High-adhesion ink for porous surfaces such as cardboard ensures that your print remains legible even after extensive handling.

Replace expensive labels and pre-printed packaging
Robust nozzle protection for optimum printing performance
Increased printing height capability – 75mm

Large Character Printer

Laser Coders

One of the most reliable, versatile, and cost-efficient marking methods available. Indelible marks for even the most highly regulated industries.

With accuracy guaranteed, laser coders are a great option for high speed or permanent date marking.

Laser tube lifespan estimated at 45k hours
Permanent marking with fast application
No consumables, no solvents

Laser Coders

What are the different types of date coders?

There are three coders Linx offer best suited for date coding. A continuous inkjet (CIJ) can be used by printing a code using inkjet. Large Character Printer can also be used by printing directly onto the product without any need for labels. Lastly, a laser can be used as a permanent solution without a need for consumables and solvent.

How much do expiry date printers cost?

The price will vary depending on what model you choose and any add ons you require, for an example a trolley for easy access integrating the machine. For more information and a quote click here and one of our specialists will get be contact.

What substrates do date coders print on?

There is a long list of substrates date codes are used to be printed on, a few popular ones being PVC, glass, acrylic, polyester, polyethylene. For more information click here and one of our experts will get in contact.

Working with Linx

Linx Printing Technologies have been in the industrial coding and marking industry for 35 years. We have built a team of high specialists to support all our customers through their buying process and aftercare. We have a set of highly qualified and experienced sales managers to assist from the very beginning, offering sample marking, free site visits and advice across all industries.

Worried you won’t have support after the sale? We have a UK service maintenance and support team to maintain the quality of the machines to run efficiently and effectively on your production line. To offer ultimate support we have a team of highly qualified technical support team available should you have an issue with any of our machines, we are on hand to help you get coding quickly again.

Get in touch